HACKER Q&A
📣 behnamoh

Can Apple Fix the Web?


Apple did not allow Flash on their devices for a long time, and the only way this problem was solved was when Flash was no more.

The same thing happened with BlueTooth, when Apple decided not to allow file transfer over BT. Then they introduced their own AirDrop, which others copied (e.g., Nearby features on Android and Windows).

They also have made a ton of drastic design decisions that took the industry by surprise, but in the end, almost everybody followed suit and embraced those changes. For example, they dropped CD/DVD drives, 3.5mm headphone jack, many ports on MacBooks, etc.

Given such history, I think the only company that can fix the web is actually not Google, but Apple. Given the number of devices they sell and their grip on Safari, they can easily enforce certain protocols on how websites should be developed.

What do you think?


  👤 PaulHoule Accepted Answer ✓
Flash is not really "no more".

Adobe renamed the Flash editor to "Adobe Animate" and they created HTML 5 and WebGL players that do almost everything Flash did but without the plugin. Except for a handful of features people who liked Flash could migrate their skills to a plugin less world.

I think for now people complain that Safari is behind the curve. For instance I have a 2013 Mac Mini (granted pretty old and not the best vintage of mini) that does not support WebP as an image format in Safari, though newer macs do. Chrome and Firefox support it but Safari doesn't.

There are many features that the latest Safari does not support and there was something on the front page today about how certain Javascript features don't work on older iPads because they chose to quit updating Safari. (Granted a few minutes with a older Android tablet or even a new Android tablet will remind you why Android's logo is a trash can.)

Fundamentally Apple would rather you didn't make web pages at all but just made apps instead. That is one reason Safari doesn't support many features required for Progressive Web Applications.


👤 weare138
I don't think we should expect any company to 'fix' the web. Apple's ecosystem contributed to the fragmentation of the web too. We're not going to get something better just something slightly less worse.

👤 mtmail
Isn't AirDrop is propietary and iOS/MacOS specific? It might be easier to use than Bluetooth but it's less open. I wouldn't want a less open internet.